Cracking the code

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This article was published 29/09/2019 (2175 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The first time Abby Mann got a computer, she was about 12 years old. A short time later, she wrote her first piece of code, which made a boat move across the screen. By the age of 13, she had her first job at a business thanks to her self-taught computer skills.

That was more than 30 years ago, when access to computers and technological knowledge was minimal; today, it’s not uncommon for kids to know how to swipe before they can even talk, and the desire among young people to learn more about the back end of app building is rapidly increasing.

“The curriculum builds in computer languages, as well as robotics and electronics, so children are getting digital literacy skills at a very young age, and learning how the world is connected.” – Abby Mann, Code Ninjas franchisee

Mann and her business partner, Michelle Chay, recently opened Code Ninjas, a local branch of a North American franchise that has more than 200 centres across the continent (as well as a few in Europe) and is focused on teaching kids between the ages of seven and 14 how to code as they develop their own games.

“The curriculum builds in computer languages, as well as robotics and electronics, so children are getting digital literacy skills at a very young age, and learning how the world is connected,” says Mann in the pair’s new space at 350 North Town Rd. in Bridgwater.

Code Ninjas, as the name suggests, uses a martial arts-style scale to rank the difficulty of its curricula; each course is a different belt colour. The beginner courses — white, yellow, orange and green belts — each take about three months to complete; intermediate courses — blue, purple, brown and red belts — six months each; and advanced courses — three levels of black belts — each take one year.

If a child, or “ninja,” stays with the program all the way from white to the third black belt, a total of five years, they will have the skills necessary to create and publish an app in the App Store.

In keeping with this theme, the classroom space where the kids do their coding is called the dojo and their instructors, who guide the students along on provided personal laptops and external monitors, are their senseis.

Each child works through the curriculum at his or her own pace. Code Ninjas offers monthly drop-in packages that work out to either one or two hours of instruction a week; missed hours — owing to weather, conflicts, holidays or any other circumstace — get rolled over. The cost varies widely depending on the program, from $159 to $499 per month.

“The program is self-led but not self-taught,” Chay explains. “If they have trouble, collaboration is encouraged to engage in team-building skills. Senseis are there to give a hand.

“If the kids have an aptitude for it, they aren’t being slowed down, or if the opposite is true and they are struggling a bit with a certain concept, they are able to work at their own pace and when it falls into place, it’s a big victory. They are only competing against themselves.”

Understanding the language of computers and how they interact with each other is already a coveted skill in the workforce; much like typing and basic computer-usage skills, the fundamentals of coding will soon become a requirement in many occupations.

The best way to learn is to start early. Data from SEMrush, a research service used for online marketing, in the last two years, show there has been a 94 per cent increase in Canadian searches related to coding classes specifically for kids, and a 42 per cent increase in searches relating to coding classes in general.

Despite this fact, many schools can’t or don’t offer coding as part of their computer-learning classes.

Mann and Chay hope spaces such as Code Ninja will help fill that gap in a way that also encourages all genders and skill levels to commingle.

“We can get the young girls and young boys and we can get them into a room where there are commonalities and there’s networking and there’s social interaction,” Mann says.

“There are not many sports or activities past the age of eight where the sexes are together. We provide that environment, it doesn’t matter if you’re a boy or a girl, we think of them as gamers and coders and ninjas.”

Mann’s daughter, seven-year-old Ava Swedlo, had the idea to bring Code Ninja to Winnipeg. She expressed an interest in learning how to build video games. She now says she is considering it as a future career.

Mann, who has an extensive background in coding, wasn’t prepared to teach such a young child the complexities of coding languages such as C++ or Dos, so she started to do some research.

Thanks to retargeting (a form of marketing that recalls sites you have visited), Code Ninjas ads popped up on her Facebook page.

Less than a year later, Mann and Chay opened the Winnipeg location. The official grand opening is Oct. 5.

“I love kids and I love developing kids, and just seeing them be themselves in the centre… and all types of kids.” – Mann

Beyond the practicality of learning coding skills, Mann and Chay take pride in the emotional development that happens when kids find their niche and have an encouraging environment in which to learn.

In that vein, both women say they hope to expand the reach of Code Ninjas in the future, beyond their current facility.

“I love kids and I love developing kids, and just seeing them be themselves in the centre… and all types of kids,” Mann says.

“Kids on the spectrum (of autism disorder) are very much attracted to the program, and seeing them in here and seeing their parents be joyful that their kids have found a place where they fit, it’s very rewarding.

“Not only do we want to have this centre, we want to bring it to inner-city schools and the north as well,” she says.

“This is just a small piece of the larger vision.”

erin.lebar@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @NireRabel